Case Study: Bustle achieves high Instagram Stories engagement and new revenue streams with Buffer

How Bustle Ignited Engagement and Created New Revenue Streams Using Instagram Stories

Bustle, a digital publisher reaching millennial women, wanted to deepen audience connection and diversify beyond its meme-driven Instagram feed while also finding new ways to monetize social content. The challenge was producing frequent, platform-native content that felt authentic and could scale engagement without heavy production overhead.

Bustle leaned into Instagram Stories with short, phone-shot episodic series and interactive features (polls, stickers) that showcased beauty, entertainment, and games. This approach enabled brand partnerships like the Sephora “Beauty Lab,” won a Digiday Award, and drove high completion rates (up to 92% for short stories, 60–70% for longer series), boosted real-time viewer feedback and suggestions, and turned social into a significant and growing revenue stream.

Bustle

Hannah Caldwell

Social Editor